By Alex Faust

“This has been the most positive weekend that we have had,” said Northeastern head coach Neil McPhee following the Huskies’ split of a weekend series with nationally ranked UNC-Wilmington, noting the confidence boost the team received with the win and tie against the then-undefeated Seahawks.

Combined with the desire to defend their baseball Beanpot championship, the team looked ahead to this week as a stepping stone for the season.

The Huskies visited Holy Cross Tuesday for an intrastate out-of-conference game and played Boston College in the first round of the Baseball Beanpot at Frazier Field in Lynn yesterday.

Tuesday’s game against the Crusaders saw touted freshman Les Williams bounce back from a rocky outing against Boston College last week. Williams tossed seven solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits.

At the time Williams left the game, the Crusaders had just jumped in front to a 2-1 lead on an RBI double from first baseman Eric Oxford. The Huskies bounced back in the top of the eighth to tie with a triple from Mike Tamsin and a sacrifice fly by Mike Lyon.

Northeastern called on senior reliever Bobby Carrington to carry a tie game into extra innings, but a combination of two hits and a walk allowed Crusaders’ shortstop John Sills to hit a walk-off single, giving the Crusaders a 3-2 victory.

While the box score was not in the Huskies’ favor, Williams’ strong performance served as something to rally around heading into the first round of the Baseball Beanpot tournament.

Wednesday’s game against the Eagles was billed as a rematch of the five home run slugfest from last Tuesday at Friedman Diamond. Ryan Quigley took the hill for the Huskies and matched BC freshman Pat Dean into the sixth inning with the game tied 4-4. The inning started well for Quigley, who quickly got the first two batters out, but a walk, single, double and wild pitch – all with two outs – allowed Boston College to slip away to a 7-4 lead.

Six more runs were tacked on in the seventh and eighth, with Northeastern staging a two-run rally in the ninth, giving the Eagles a 13-6 win and placing them into the championship round of the Beanpot tournament next Wednesday.

Despite two disappointing losses, the team has been improving steadily where it counts – in conference play.

“These mid-week games and particularly the Beanpot games are very important,” Huskies head coach Neil McPhee said after the game. “But conference play